Semiconductor Device and Manufacturing Method Thereof

ABSTRACT

A semiconductor device includes a semiconductor substrate, a plurality of semiconductor fins, a gate stack and an epitaxy structure. The semiconductor fins are present on the semiconductor substrate. The semiconductor fins respectively include recesses therein. The gate stack is present on portions of the semiconductor fins that are adjacent to the recesses. The epitaxy structure is present across the recesses of the semiconductor fins. The epitaxy structure includes a plurality of corners and at least one groove present between the corners, and the groove has a curvature radius greater than that of at least one of the corners.

PRIORITY CLAIM AND CROSS-REFERENCE

This application is a divisional of U.S. patent application Ser. No.15/082,295, filed Mar. 28, 2016, which claims priority to U.S.Provisional Application No. 62/268,440, filed Dec. 16, 2015, whichapplications are herein incorporated by reference.

BACKGROUND

In the race to improve transistor performance as well as reduce the sizeof transistors, transistors have been developed that the channel andsource/drain regions are located in a fin formed from the substrate.Such non-planar devices are multiple-gate FinFETs. A multiple-gateFinFET may have a gate electrode that straddles across a fin-likesilicon body to form a channel region. Epitaxy source/drain regions maybe formed adjacent to the channel region to increase carrier mobility inthe channel region.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

Aspects of the present disclosure are best understood from the followingdetailed description when read with the accompanying figures. It isnoted that, in accordance with the standard practice in the industry,various features are not drawn to scale. In fact, the dimensions of thevarious features may be arbitrarily increased or reduced for clarity ofdiscussion.

FIG. 1 to FIG. 13 illustrate different steps of a method of forming asemiconductor device according to some embodiments of the presentdisclosure.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

The following disclosure provides many different embodiments, orexamples, for implementing different features of the provided subjectmatter. Specific examples of components and arrangements are describedbelow to simplify the present disclosure. These are, of course, merelyexamples and are not intended to be limiting. For example, the formationof a first feature over or on a second feature in the description thatfollows may include embodiments in which the first and second featuresare formed in direct contact, and may also include embodiments in whichadditional features may be formed between the first and second features,such that the first and second features may not be in direct contact. Inaddition, the present disclosure may repeat reference numerals and/orletters in the various examples. This repetition is for the purpose ofsimplicity and clarity and does not in itself dictate a relationshipbetween the various embodiments and/or configurations discussed.

Further, spatially relative terms, such as “beneath,” “below,” “lower,”“above,” “upper” and the like, may be used herein for ease ofdescription to describe one element or feature's relationship to anotherelement(s) or feature(s) as illustrated in the figures. The spatiallyrelative terms are intended to encompass different orientations of thedevice in use or operation in addition to the orientation depicted inthe figures. The apparatus may be otherwise oriented (rotated 90 degreesor at other orientations) and the spatially relative descriptors usedherein may likewise be interpreted accordingly.

FIG. 1 to FIG. 13 illustrate different steps of a method of forming asemiconductor device according to some embodiments of the presentdisclosure. Reference is made to FIG. 1. A plurality of semiconductorfins 110 are formed on a substrate 100. In some embodiments, thesubstrate 110 includes a bulk silicon substrate. In some embodiments,the substrate 100 may be silicon in a crystalline structure. In someother embodiments, the substrate 100 may include other elementarysemiconductors, such as germanium, or include a compound semiconductor,such as silicon carbide, gallium arsenide, indium arsenide, or indiumphosphide. In yet some other embodiments, the substrate 100 includes asilicon-on-insulator (SOI) substrate. The SOI substrate may befabricated using separation by implantation of oxygen, wafer bonding,and/or other suitable methods.

The semiconductor fins 110 extend from the substrate 100. Thesemiconductor fins 110 may be fabricated by using suitable processes,such as photolithography and etching. In some embodiments, thesemiconductor fins 110 may be etched from the substrate 100 by using dryetching or a plasma process. Thereafter, an isolation structure 120 isformed to fill lower portions of trenches between the semiconductor fins110 as shallow trench isolation (STI). In other words, the semiconductorfins 110 are surrounded by the isolation structure 120. The isolationstructure 120 may include any suitable dielectric material, such assilicon oxide. The method of forming the isolation structure 120 mayinclude depositing a dielectric material on the substrate 100 to coverthe semiconductor fins 110, optionally performing a planarizationprocess to remove the excess dielectric material outside the trenchesbetween the semiconductor fins 110, and then performing an etchingprocess on the remaining dielectric material until upper portions of thesemiconductor fins 110 are exposed.

Reference is made to FIG. 2. A dummy gate material layer 130 is formedon the semiconductor fins 110. The dummy gate material layer 130 mayinclude polysilicon. The dummy gate material layer 130 can be formed bya deposition process, such as a chemical vapor deposition (CVD) process.A mask layer 140 is formed on the dummy gate material layer 130 by adeposition process, such as a CVD process. In some embodiments, the masklayer 140 may include a hard mask such as silicon nitride (SiN), siliconoxide or combinations thereof. In some embodiments, the mask layer 140may be a multilayer structure. For example, the mask layer 140 mayinclude a silicon nitride layer formed on the dummy gate material layer130 and a silicon oxide layer formed on the silicon nitride layer.

Reference is made to FIG. 3. The mask layer 140 and the dummy gatematerial layer 130 are patterned to form a dummy gate stack 150 crossingportions the semiconductor fins 110. Other portions of the semiconductorfins 110 beside the dummy gate stack 150 are exposed. The patterningstep includes performing photolithography and etching processes.

Reference is made to FIG. 4. A pair of spacers 160 are formed onopposite sidewalls of the dummy gate stack 150. In some embodiments, thespacers 160 may include silicon oxide, silicon nitride, siliconoxy-nitride, or other suitable materials. The spacers 160 may include asingle layer or multilayer structure. The method of forming the spacers160 includes forming a dielectric layer on the substrate 100 and thenperforming an etching process to remove a portion of the dielectriclayer. In some embodiments, the spacers 160 may be used to offsetsubsequently formed doped regions, such as source/drain regions. Thespacers 160 may further be used for designing or modifying thesource/drain region profile.

Reference is made to FIG. 5. Portions of the semiconductor fins 110exposed by the dummy gate stack 150 and the spacers 160 are respectivelypartially removed (or partially recessed) to form recesses 112. At leastone of the remaining semiconductor fins 110 has an embedded portion 114and a protruding portion 116 after this removal. The embedded portion114 is embedded in the isolation structure 120, and the embedded portion114 is at least partially exposed by the recess 112. The protrudingportion 116 protrudes from the embedded portion 114 and adjacent to therecess 112. The dummy gate stack 150 and the spacers 160 cover theprotruding portion 116, and opposite sidewalls of the protruding portion116 are respectively exposed by the spacers 160. This removal may beperformed by a reactive ion etch (RIE) using the dummy gate stack 150and spacers 160 as hardmasks, or by any other suitable removal process.In some embodiments, the etching process may be performed under apressure of about 1 mTorr to 1000 mTorr, a power of about 50 W to 1000W, a bias voltage of about 20 V to 500 V, at a temperature of about 40°C. to 60° C., using a HBr and/or Cl₂ as etch gases. Also, in theembodiments provided, the bias voltage used in the etching process maybe tuned to allow good control of an etching direction to achievedesired profiles for the embedded portions 114 of the semiconductor fins110.

Reference is made to FIG. 6. Unshaped epitaxy structures 170 arerespectively formed in the recesses 112 and on the embedded portions 114of the semiconductor fins 110. During the epitaxy process, the epitaxygrowth of the unshaped epitaxy structures 170 extend vertically andlaterally, such that the unshaped epitaxy structures 170 are mergedtogether (or physically connected) to form an unshaped merged epitaxystructure 180 that is present across the recesses 112 of thesemiconductor fins 110. The unshaped epitaxy structures 170 may beformed by using one or more epitaxy or epitaxial (epi) processes, suchthat Si features, SiGe features, other suitable features or combinationsthereof can be formed in a crystalline state on the embedded portions114 of the semiconductor fins 110. For example, at least one of theunshaped epitaxy structures 170 has an epitaxy layer 172 and a cap layer174. The cap layer 174 caps the epitaxy layer 172. In some embodiments,the epitaxy layer 172 includes silicon germanium, and the cap layer 174includes silicon. The epitaxy layer 172 can be formed on the embeddedportion 114 by epitaxy growth. The cap layer 174 can be formed on theepitaxy layer 172 by epitaxy growth as well. In some embodiments, thecap layer 174 includes substantially pure silicon. Such a cap layer 174may increase the electrical conductivity of the unshaped epitaxystructure 170. The cap layers 174 of the unshaped epitaxy structures 170are merged.

In some embodiments, a lattice constant of the unshaped epitaxystructures 170 is different from a lattice constant of the semiconductorfins 110, so that the channels in the protruding portions of thesemiconductor fins 110 covered by the dummy gate stack 150 can bestrained or stressed by the epitaxy structures 170 to improve carriermobility of the semiconductor device and enhance the device performance.For example, the semiconductor fins 110 include silicon, and the epitaxylayers 172 of the epitaxy structures 170 include silicon germanium. Someexamples of the epitaxy process include CVD deposition techniques (e.g.,vapor-phase epitaxy (VPE) and/or ultra-high vacuum CVD (UHV-CVD)),molecular beam epitaxy, and/or other suitable processes. The epitaxyprocess may use gaseous and/or liquid precursors, which interact withthe composition of the embedded portions 114 of the semiconductor fins110. In some embodiments, when the unshaped epitaxy structures 170include silicon germanium, such as having the silicon germanium epitaxylayer 172, the precursors of epitaxy growth of the unshaped epitaxystructures 170 may include silicon-containing gas andgermanium-containing gas, such as SiH₄ and GeH₄, respectively, and thepartial pressures of the silicon-containing gas and germanium-containinggas are adjusted to modify the germanium atomic percentage and thesilicon atomic percentage. During the epitaxy growth, the flow rate ofthe germanium-containing precursor can be controlled to adjust sizes ofthe unshaped epitaxy structures 170. In some embodiments, the flow rateof the germanium-containing gas can be controlled to increase the sizesof the unshaped epitaxy structures 170, and such a flow rate control ofthe germanium-containing gas may increase the area on which asource/drain contact can be formed in a subsequent process.

In some embodiments, the unshaped epitaxy structures 170 may be in-situdoped. The doping species include, for example, a p-type dopant, such asboron or BF₂, and/or other suitable dopants. If the unshaped epitaxystructures 170 are not in-situ doped, a second implantation process(i.e., a junction implant process) is performed to dope the unshapedepitaxy structures 170. One or more annealing processes may be performedto activate the unshaped epitaxy structures 170. The annealing processesinclude rapid thermal annealing (RTA) and/or laser annealing processes.

Reference is made to FIG. 7 and FIG. 8, in which FIG. 8 is across-sectional view taken along line 8 in FIG. 7. A shape modifyingprocess is performed to shape the unshaped merged epitaxy structure 180of FIG. 6 as a shaped merged epitaxy structure 185. For example, themerged epitaxy structure 180 of FIG. 6 can be etched to form the mergedepitaxy structure 185 with substantially smooth corners. Since themerged epitaxy structure 185 is shaped by the shape modifying process,the merged epitaxy structure 185 includes at least one curved groove 186that is substantially round. Such a substantially round groove 186 mayincrease the area on which the source/drain contact can be formed in asubsequent process. In other words, the unsaped epitaxy structures 170in FIG. 6 are shaped as the shaped epitaxy structures 175 in FIG. 7, anda groove between the unshaped epitaxy structures 170 in FIG. 6 is shapedas the groove 186 between the shaped epitaxy structures 175 in FIG. 7,such that groove 186 between the shaped epitaxy structures 175 in FIG. 7has a curvature radius greater than the groove between the unshapedepitaxy structures 170 in FIG. 6. Stated differently, the unshapedepitaxy structures 170 in FIG. 6 are shaped to form shaped epitaxystructures 175 in FIG. 7 that cooperatively form a concave surface 187,and the concave surface 187 defines the substantially round groove 186thereon. In other words, the concave surface 187 is substantially roundto serve as a bottom surface of the substantially round groove 186. Sucha substantially round profile of the concave surface 187 may increasethe area on which the source/drain contact can be formed in a subsequentprocess. In some embodiments, the curvature radius of the concavesurface 187 (or the substantially round groove 186) is greater thanabout 0.5 nm, which may increase the area on which the source/draincontact can be formed. In some embodiments, the height of at least oneof the shaped epitaxy structures 175 ranges from about 40 nm to about 60nm. In some embodiments, the width of at least one of the shaped epitaxystructures 175 ranges from about 30 nm to about 50 nm.

In some embodiments, as shown in FIG. 8, the shaped merged epitaxystructure 185 has top corners 188. The top corners 188 of the shapedmerged epitaxy structure 185 respectively overly the semiconductor fins110 on which the shaped epitaxy structures 175 are formed. In otherwords, projections of the top corners 188 on the surface 102 of thesubstrate 100 respectively overlap with semiconductor fins 110. Thesubstantially round groove 186 is present between the top corners 188,and the concave surface 187 is present between the top corners 188 aswell. In some embodiments, the shape modifying process shapes the topcorners 188 as substantially round corners. In some embodiments, atleast one of the substantially round top corners 188 has a curvatureradius less than the curvature radius of the substantially round groove186 due to the shape modifying process. In other words, the curvatureradius of the substantially round groove 186 is greater than that of thesubstantially round top corner 188, so that the area on which thesource/drain contact is formed can be increased. For example, thecurvature radius of the substantially round groove 186 is greater thanabout 0.5 nm, and the curvature radius of the substantially round topcorner 188 ranges from about 1 nm to about 10 nm, or less than about 0.5nm.

The substantially round top corners 188 are convex with respect to thesubstantially round groove 186. In other words, the substantially roundgroove 186 is concave with respect to the substantially round topcorners 188 and present between the substantially round top corners 188.Stated differently, the substantially round top corners 188 are adjacentto opposite sides of the concave surface 187, and the concave surface187 has a bottom closer to the substrate 100 than the substantiallyround top corners 188 being. In other words, a distance from the bottomof the concave surface 187 to the surface 102 of the substrate 100 isshorter than distances from the substantially round top corners 188 tothe surface 102 of the substrate 100. In such a configuration, thesubstantially round top corners 188 and the substantially round groove186 can form a substantially wavy surface together, and the concaveregion of the substantially wavy surface has a curvature radius greaterthan that of the convex region of the substantially wavy surface, whichmay increase the area that the source/drain contact can be formedthereon.

In some embodiments, after the shape modifying process, at leastportions of the cap layers 174 are removed. The merged portions of thecap layers 174 present between the epitaxy layers 172 are remained toserve as a merged cap layer 176. The substantially round groove 186 isformed on an outer surface of the merged cap layer 176. In other words,the merged cap layer 176 is shaped to form the concave surface 187thereon. In some embodiments, the cap layers 174 are shaped, and theepitaxy layers 172 are not shaped. In some embodiments, the cap layers174 and the epitaxy layers 172 are shaped. In some embodiments, afterthe shape modifying process, portions of the epitaxy layers 172 areexposed, and the exposed surfaces of the epitaxy layers 172 are adjacentto the concave surface 187 that defines the substantially round groove186.

In some embodiments, the substantially round top corners 188 are formedon the epitaxy layers 172. In other words, the epitaxy layers 172 havesubstantially round top corners shaped by the shape modifying process.In some embodiments, a bottom of the substantially round groove 186 anda top of the substantially round top corners 188 are made of differentmaterials. For example, the bottom of the substantially round groove 186includes silicon, and the top of the substantially round top corners 188includes silicon germanium. In some embodiments, an optional epitaxyprocess can be performed to the merged epitaxy structure 185 for forminganother silicon cap on the merged epitaxy structure 185, so as toimprove the electrical conductivity.

In some embodiments, the shape modifying process includes an isotropicetching process. In other words, the isotropic etching process can beperformed to the unshaped merged epitaxy structure 180 in FIG. 6 to formthe shaped merged epitaxy structure 185 in FIG. 7. The isotropic etchingis a form of etching that does not include a preferential direction. Insome embodiments, the isotropic etching may be a germanium selectivelyetching process, a silicon selectively etching process or combinationsthereof. For example, the etchant used in the isotropic etching processmay include hydrofluoric acid (HF), hydrochloric acid (HCl), hydrogenbromide (Hbr) hydrogen peroxide (H₂O₂), other suitable etchants, orcombinations thereof. The silicon selectively etching process refers toan etching process that is selective to silicon. In other words, anamount of a silicon-containing structure etched away is greater than anamount of another structure etched away in a single etching process.Similarly, the germanium selectively etching process refers to anetching process that is selective to germanium. In other words, anamount of a germanium-containing structure etched away is greater thanan amount of another structure etched away in a single etching process.

In some embodiments, as shown in FIG. 8, the substrate 100 has a surface102, and the semiconductor fins 110 are present on (or protrude from)the surface 102 of the substrate 100. A projection of the substantiallyround groove 186 on the surface 102 of the substrate 100 on which thesemiconductor fins 110 are present is at least present between thesemiconductor fins 110, and therefore, the area on which thesource/drain contact can be formed is increased.

In some embodiments, as shown in FIG. 8, a portion of the isolationstructure 120 underlies the merged epitaxy structure 185. In otherwords, a projection of the merged epitaxy structure 185 on the surface102 of the substrate 100 overlaps with a projection of the isolationstructure 120 on the surface 102 of the substrate 100. The isolationstructure 120 has a top surface 122 proximal to the merged epitaxystructure 185. In other words, the top surface 122 is distal to thesubstrate 100. The top surface 122 of the isolation structure 120 is atleast partially recessed due to the shape modifying process. In otherwords, the top surface 122 of the isolation structure 120 may be aconcave surface, and such a concave profile is formed due to at leastthe shape modifying process. For example, the top concave surface 122may be curved or substantially round.

Reference is made to FIG. 9. An interlayer dielectric (ILD) layer 200 isformed on the substrate 100 to cover the dummy gate stack 150, theepitaxy structure 190 and the semiconductor fins 110. The ILD layer 200may include silicon oxide, silicon nitride, silicon oxynitride, siliconcarbide, a low-dielectric constant dielectric material, or combinationsthereof. The ILD layer 200 can be formed by a deposition process, suchas a CVD process. Afterwards, a portion of the ILD layer 200 is removedto expose a top surface of the dummy gate stack 150. The removing stepmay include performing a chemical-mechanical polishing (CMP) process.

Reference is made to FIG. 10. The dummy gate stack 150 between thespacers 160 is removed to form a recess 210 by using suitable processes,such as photolithography and etching. Formation of the recess 210 may beperformed by reactive ion etching (RIE) or by any other suitable removalprocess. Formation of the recess 210 may includes a selectively etchingprocess that selectively etches the dummy gate stack 150 with respect tothe underlying protruding portions of the semiconductor fins 110. Duringthe formation of the recess 210, the spacers 160 and the ILD layer 200may be protected by a mask, such as a photoresist mask or a hard mask.After the formation of the recess 210, the mask can be removed byashing, stripping, or other suitable techniques.

Reference is made to FIG. 11 and FIG. 12, in which FIG. 12 is across-sectional view taken along line 12 in FIG. 11. A gate dielectriclayer 220 is formed in the recess 210 and on the protruding portions ofthe semiconductor fins 110 in the recess 210. The gate electrode layer230 is formed in the recess 210 and on the gate dielectric layer 220.The gate dielectric layer 220 and the gate electrode layer 230 form agate stack 240 between the spacers 160. The gate dielectric layer 220,which prevents electron depletion, may include, for example, a high-kdielectric material such as metal oxides, metal nitrides, metalsilicates, transition metal-oxides, transition metal-nitrides,transition metal-silicates, oxynitrides of metals, metal aluminates,zirconium silicate, zirconium aluminate, or combinations thereof. Insome embodiments, the gate dielectric layer 220 may include hafniumoxide (HfO₂), hafnium silicon oxide (HfSiO), hafnium silicon oxynitride(HfSiON), hafnium tantalum oxide (HfTaO), hafnium titanium oxide(HfTiO), hafnium zirconium oxide (HfZrO), lanthanum oxide (LaO),zirconium oxide (ZrO), titanium oxide (TiO), tantalum oxide (Ta₂O₅),yttrium oxide (Y₂O₃), strontium titanium oxide (SrTiO₃, STO), bariumtitanium oxide (BaTiO₃, BTO), barium zirconium oxide (BaZrO), hafniumlanthanum oxide (HfLaO), lanthanum silicon oxide (LaSiO), aluminumsilicon oxide (AlSiO), aluminum oxide (Al₂O₃), silicon nitride (Si₃N₄),oxynitrides (SiON), or combinations thereof. The gate dielectric layer220 may have a multilayer structure, such as one layer of silicon oxide(e.g., interfacial layer) and another layer of high-k material. The gatedielectric layer 220 may be formed by using CVD, physical vapordeposition (PVD), atomic layer deposition (ALD), thermal oxide, ozoneoxidation, other suitable processes, or combinations thereof.

In some embodiments, the gate electrode layer 230 includes asemiconductor material such as polysilicon, amorphous silicon, or thelike. The gate electrode layer 230 may be deposited doped or undoped.For example, in some embodiments, the gate electrode layer 230 includespolysilicon deposited undoped by low-pressure chemical vapor deposition(LPCVD). Once applied, the polysilicon may be doped with, for example,phosphorous ions (or other P-type dopants) to form a PMOS device orboron (or other N-type dopants) to form an NMOS device. The polysiliconmay also be deposited, for example, by furnace deposition of an in-situdoped polysilicon. Alternatively, the gate electrode layer 230 mayinclude a polysilicon metal alloy or a metal gate including metals suchas tungsten (W), nickel (Ni), aluminum (Al), tantalum (Ta), titanium(Ti), or combinations thereof.

Reference is made to FIG. 13. A source/drain contact 250 is formedthrough the ILD layer 200 and contacts with the substantially roundconcave surface 187 of the epitaxy structure 185. In other words, thesource/drain contact 250 is formed on the substantially round groove186. In some embodiments, since the source/drain contact 250 is formedon the substantially round concave surface 187, the source/drain contact250 may include a substantially round bottom surface 252 with a shapecorresponding to the substantially round concave surface 187. In otherwords, the substantially round bottom surface 252 is in contact with thesubstantially round concave surface 187, and the substantially roundbottom surface 252 has a curvature radius substantially the same as thatof the groove 186. In some embodiments, the curvature radius of thesubstantially round bottom surface 252 is greater than about 0.5 nm. Insome embodiments, the curvature radius of the substantially roundsurface 252 is greater than the curvature radius of the substantiallyround top corner 188. Formation of the source/drain contact 250 mayinclude forming a contact hole by an etching process to etch through theILD layer 200 down to the substantially round concave surface 187 of themerged epitaxy structure 185 and depositing metal or other suitableconductive materials in the contact hole by a deposition process, suchas a CVD process, to form the source/drain contact 250.

In some embodiments, the epitaxy structure present across the recessesof the semiconductor fins has a groove. Such a groove is shaped to havea curvature radius greater than that of a corner of the epitaxystructure. As a result, the source/drain contact can be formed on agreater area, and the contact resistance can be therefore reduced.

According to some embodiments, a semiconductor device includes asemiconductor substrate, a plurality of semiconductor fins, a gate stackand an epitaxy structure. The semiconductor fins are present on thesemiconductor substrate. The semiconductor fins respectively compriserecesses therein. The gate stack is present on portions of thesemiconductor fins that are adjacent to the recesses. The epitaxystructure is present across the recesses of the semiconductor fins. Theepitaxy structure includes a plurality of corners and at least onegroove present between the corners, and the groove has a curvatureradius greater than that of at least one of the corners.

According to some embodiments, a semiconductor device includes asemiconductor substrate, a plurality of semiconductor fins, a gate stackand an epitaxy structure. The semiconductor fins are present on thesemiconductor substrate. The semiconductor fins respectively compriserecesses therein. The gate stack is present on portions of thesemiconductor fins that are adjacent to the recesses. The epitaxystructure present across the recesses of the semiconductor fins. Theepitaxy structure includes at least one groove. The groove has acurvature radius greater than about 0.5 nm.

According to some embodiments, a method of forming a semiconductordevice includes forming a plurality of semiconductor fins on asemiconductor substrate, removing portions of the semiconductor fins toform recesses, forming a gate stack on another portions of thesemiconductor fins that are adjacent to the recesses, forming epitaxystructures in the recesses at least until the epitaxy structures aremerged and form a groove on the merged epitaxy structures, and shapingthe groove such that the groove after the shaping has a curvature radiusgreater than a curvature radius of the groove before the shaping.

The foregoing outlines features of several embodiments so that thoseskilled in the art may better understand the aspects of the presentdisclosure. Those skilled in the art should appreciate that they mayreadily use the present disclosure as a basis for designing or modifyingother processes and structures for carrying out the same purposes and/orachieving the same advantages of the embodiments introduced herein.Those skilled in the art should also realize that such equivalentconstructions do not depart from the spirit and scope of the presentdisclosure, and that they may make various changes, substitutions, andalterations herein without departing from the spirit and scope of thepresent disclosure.

What is claimed is:
 1. A method of forming a semiconductor device,comprising: forming a plurality of semiconductor fins on a semiconductorsubstrate; forming a gate stack on the semiconductor fins; removingportions of the semiconductor fins to form recesses adjacent to the gatestack; forming epitaxy structures in the recesses at least until theepitaxy structures are merged and a groove is formed in the mergedepitaxy structures; and shaping the groove such that the shaped groovehas a curvature radius greater than that of the groove before theshaping.
 2. The method of claim 1, wherein the shaping comprisesperforming an isotropic etching process to the merged epitaxystructures.
 3. The method of claim 1, wherein an etchant used in theshaping comprises hydrogen peroxide (H₂O₂).
 4. The method of claim 1,wherein the shaping is performed at least until the curvature radius ofthe groove is greater than about 0.5 nm.
 5. The method of claim 1,wherein the forming the merged epitaxy structures comprises: formingepitaxy layers in the recesses respectively; and forming capsrespectively on the epitaxy layers at least until the caps are merged,wherein the shaping comprises removing at least a portion of the caps.6. The method claim 5, further comprising: forming at least one contacton the shaped groove.
 7. The method of claim 6, wherein the at least onecontact physically contacts at least one of the epitaxy layers and alsophysically contacts a remaining portion of the caps.
 8. The method ofclaim 5, wherein the shaping comprises shaping the epitaxy layers. 9.The method of claim 1, wherein the shaping rounds top corners of theepitaxy structures.
 10. A method comprising: forming a firstsemiconductor fin and a second semiconductor fin over a substrate;forming a first gate stack on the first and second semiconductor fins;recessing the first and first and second semiconductor fins outside ofthe first gate stack; epitaxially growing a first epitaxy structure inthe recesses of the first and second semiconductor fins, the firstepitaxy structure comprising a first epitaxial layer and a secondepitaxial layer, the first epitaxy structure extending from the firstsemiconductor fin to the second semiconductor fin, the first epitaxystructure having a topmost surface that includes a first corner, asecond corner, and a first groove, the first corner being over the firstsemiconductor fin and the second corner being over the secondsemiconductor fin, the first groove extending from the first corner tothe second corner, the first groove comprising the first epitaxiallayer; and etching the first epitaxy structure to form a shaped epitaxystructure, the etching forming a first rounded corner from the firstcorner, a second rounded corner from the second corner, and a secondgroove from the first groove, the second groove comprising the first andsecond epitaxial layers.
 11. The method of claim 10, wherein the firstepitaxial layer has a different material composition than the secondepitaxial layer.
 12. The method of claim 10, wherein the first epitaxiallayer comprises silicon germanium and the second epitaxial layercomprises silicon.
 13. The method of claim 10, wherein the second groovehas a curvature radius greater than a curvature radius of the firstgroove.
 14. The method of claim 10, wherein etching the first epitaxystructure comprises an isotropic etching process.
 15. The method ofclaim 10, wherein the etching the first epitaxy structure comprises anetch process with an etchant comprising hydrofluoric acid (HF),hydrochloric acid (HCl), hydrogen bromide (Hbr), hydrogen peroxide(H₂O₂), or combinations thereof.
 16. The method of claim 10 furthercomprising: forming a dielectric layer over the shaped epitaxialstructure; and forming a conductive contact through the dielectric layerto the first groove of the shaped epitaxial structure, the conductivecontact physically contacting the two first and second epitaxial layers.17. A method comprising: forming a first semiconductor fin extendingfrom a semiconductor substrate; forming a second semiconductor finextending from the semiconductor substrate, the second semiconductor finhaving a first side proximate the first semiconductor fin and a secondside distal the first semiconductor fin; growing an epitaxialsemiconductor structure extending from the first semiconductor fin tothe second semiconductor fin and having a topmost surface, the topmostsurface having a first peak above the first semiconductor fin and asecond peak above the second semiconductor fin; and shaping theepitaxial semiconductor structure to have a topmost surface with agroove between the first semiconductor fin and the second semiconductorfin, the groove having a shape, when viewed in cross-section, of acontinuous smooth curve from the first peak to the second peak, theepitaxial semiconductor structure having a bottommost surface forming asecond groove, the second groove having a shape, when viewed incross-section, of a continuous smooth curve extending from the firstsemiconductor fin to the second semiconductor fin.
 18. The method ofclaim 17, wherein the groove has a curvature radius of greater thanabout 0.5 nm.
 19. The method of claim 17, wherein a portion of groovehas a different material composition than the first peak and the secondpeak.
 20. The method of claim 17, wherein shaping the epitaxialsemiconductor structure comprises etching the epitaxial semiconductorstructure with a first etching process, the first etching processcomprises an etch process with an etchant comprising hydrofluoric acid(HF), hydrochloric acid (HCl), hydrogen bromide (Hbr), hydrogen peroxide(H₂O₂), or combinations thereof.